Anchor Your Work to the Wall - Choosing the right fasteners for drywall, plaster, and masonry - Fine Woodworking
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Anchor Your Work
to the Wall
Choosing the right fasteners for
drywall, plaster, and masonry
B y M a r i o R o d r i g u e z h
t
i
w
L
f
r
Y ou’ve finished building your cabinet, mirror, picture
frame, or shelf. Now you just need to hang it. If you can
hit studs with every screw, you’re in good shape. But if
not, you’ll need wall anchors, those little devices you set into the
wall to receive screws or bolts. There’s a plethora of anchors out
there. Which type is best in your case? That will depend on the
size and weight of the piece you’re hanging and the composition
of the wall you’re hanging it on. I’ve gathered a wide range of
anchors, and I’ll describe how they work, what situations and
wall types they’re suited for, and how to install them.
One note before you get to the point of selecting anchors: Be
sure to build in some means to easily install or hang your piece.
For a cabinet that will carry a lot of weight or see heavy use,
you might consider using a thicker back panel, or you could
incorporate an inset top rail to keep the piece square and to bet-
ter support your fasteners. Using a French cleat (see the photo
on this page) adds some time to your build but provides solid
attachment, makes the cabinet easily removable, and keeps you
from having to drive screws through the cabinet from inside. If
you’re hanging a stock cabinet (obtained from a box store or
cabinet wholesaler), inspect its construction and, if need be, add
any cleats, rails, or corner blocks that will strengthen the piece
and ensure an easier installation.
Mario Rodriguez makes furniture and teaches woodworking
in Philadelphia.
54 F I N E w o o d w o r k in g Photos:
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SOMETIMES JUST A SCREW WILL DO
For some light-duty
applications, like
1 smaller picture
frames or a light
display shelf, you can
actually use coarse-
threaded screws
designed to be driven
2 into drywall without
an anchor or a pilot
hole. They’re rated to
hold as much weight
as plastic sleeve
anchors, and they
have the advantage of leaving a relatively small hole when you extract
them. Lee Valley sells Wall Dog Screws (1), which have very nice bite
in drywall and are rated at 60 lb.; they can also be used in masonry (or
wood) if you drill a pilot hole. Bear Claw Screws (2), also available from
Lee Valley, have a flange below the head, making them well-suited for
frames or light mirrors that you are hanging with picture wire. They’re
rated at 30 lb. in drywall.
SELF-DRILLING ANCHORS
You drive these clever anchors into drywall with a screwdriver,
no predrilling required. I like their speed and ease of use. Their
coarse threads really bite into the wallboard, but they are easily
removed and leave little damage. Some have a solid shank
so that after a screw is driven into them they simply expand
somewhat; others are scored along the shank so the tip splits
open behind the drywall for greater holding power.
3
4
1
2
The EZ Ancor Drywall Anchor (1), rated for 50 lb., has a solid
shank that expands as the screw is driven; Toggler Self-Drilling
Drywall Anchors (2), rated for 65 lb., scissor open when the
screw is driven; EZ Ancor zinc drywall anchors (3), rated for
50 lb., can self-drill even if you happen to hit wood behind
the drywall; EZ Ancor Drywall and Stud Anchors (4), rated for
50 lb., have a coarsely threaded shank for drywall and a finely
threaded tip that enables it to grip a stud behind the drywall.
: www.finewoodworking.com SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021 55
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Expanding anchors
PLASTIC SLEEVE ANCHORS B
These anchors are suitable for light-duty tasks like
hanging pictures, curtain rods, small shelves, towel
rods, and paper holders. You predrill for them, and
they work in plaster-and-lath walls and masonry as
well as in drywall. Some merely expand when the
screw is driven in; others, like the Cobra Triple Grip,
have wings that will flip out behind the drywall.
Some of the smaller ones require only a small
predrilled hole and therefore very little repair when
they’re removed. Removing the ones with wings
can be a chore, and sometimes I just drive them
farther into the wall and spackle over the hole.
1
4
3
2
The Cobra Triple Grip (1), intended for all wall types,
is rated for 46–61 lb. in drywall, 200–225 lb. in
masonry; Everbilt Ribbed Plastic Anchors (2 and 3),
which come in kits of assorted sizes, are rated for 20–
25 lb. in drywall, 155–435 lb. in concrete; Duo Power
plastic anchors (4) elbow open and are rated for 45 lb.
MOLLY BOLTS
Molly bolts have a slotted sleeve that will spread open
behind a hollow wall when you tighten the machine-
threaded screw, creating powerful purchase. They work best
with drywall but can also be used in a plaster-and-lath wall.
After you predrill and insert the anchor, tapping the sleeve’s
flange tight to the wall, you begin driving the screw. Small
spurs beneath the flange prevent the anchor from spinning
in the hole before the sleeve expands. These Midwest
Hollow Wall Anchors are rated for 100 lb.
56 FINE WOODWORKING Photos: Jonathan Binzen (action), Michael Pekovich (fasteners)
COPYRIGHT 2021 by The Taunton Press, Inc. Copying and distribution of this article is not permitted. • Fine Woodworking #291 - OCTOBER 2021
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BUTTERFLY ANCHORS
1
2
Butterfly anchors have wings that spread
open behind a sheetrock wall. They come
in different sizes to suit drywall of various
thicknesses. The standard type, like the
Hillman Pop Toggle (1), rated for 80 lb.,
is only suitable with drywall. It requires a
large predrilled hole and won’t hold well if
the wings don’t deploy behind the wall. But
the Toggler Alligator Concrete and Drywall
Anchor (2), while it has wings that will open
behind drywall, has a slimmer shank that will
expand or scissor open in a predrilled hole,
making it suitable for use in masonry walls
as well. They are rated for 70 lb. in drywall
and 675 lb. in concrete.
Setting tool for molly
bolts. The old-style
molly has a newfangled
partner. Slip the bolt
into the gun’s tip and
the anchor into the
clearance hole. Pull the
trigger and the anchor’s
legs expand, locking
it tight. Very handy for
setting a lot of mollys.
Squeeze the wings and hammer the anchor
home. After predrilling, fold the anchor’s wings
together and push it into the hole, then tap it
home with a hammer until the flange is flush
with the wall surface. With the anchor in place,
use the supplied plastic pusher to pop open the
wings. Then drive the screw.
) SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021 57
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Toggle anchors
toggle bolts
When I need to secure larger cabinets or other wooden pieces to a drywall or
plaster wall and there is no stud accessible, toggle bolts are the anchors I most
often turn to. Composed of a bolt and a threaded, spring-loaded toggle, they’re
simple and dependable. They need a hollow space behind the wall, so they won’t
work in brick, but they do fine with concrete block. Their long screws make them
very adjustable, so they’re great for plaster-and-lath walls where wall thickness
can be inconsistent and hard to determine, often varying significantly on the
same wall.
After you’ve drilled through the wall, the inserted toggle must clear the wall
material far enough to spring open; they won’t work otherwise, so make sure to
use a long enough screw to get the toggle clear of the wall. Properly installed,
these anchors have a very positive feel. Once the screws are tightened, there is
little doubt that the cabinet they are holding is secure and strong. The Everbilt
toggle bolt above is rated for 95 lb. in drywall, 90 lb. in hollow block.
self-drilling toggle
The Cobra Driller Toggle is a very clever hybrid
anchor, marrying self-drilling capability with
toggle action. The metal toggle, which is
hinged to a split plastic shaft, is threaded
at the tip. Using a screwdriver, you drive this
anchor in without predrilling; when the head
nears the wall, two short wings on the plastic
shaft pull it flush to the surface. Next you
insert the machine screw. As you do, the screw
pushes the toggle sideways until the threads
on the screw engage the threads on the toggle.
Then you tighten the screw until the toggle is
firmly drawn to the back of the drywall. This
anchor is rated for 100 lb. in drywall.
58 F I N E w o o d w o r k in g
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pull toggles
These are a new breed of toggle anchors that link a metal toggle with one or two ribbed
plastic pull strips. After drilling a hole in a hollow wall, you insert the toggle and push it all the
way through until it clears the hole. Next you pull on the strips until the toggle is crosswise and
2 tight to the inside of the wall. Then, to keep the toggle in place, you slide a threaded plastic
nut along the pull strip until it plugs into the hole you drilled. With the strips pulled tight,
you bend them back and forth until they snap off flush with the nut. Now you can insert the
machine screw; as the screw is tightened the toggle is pulled ever more firmly to the inside of
the wall. These toggles will work with any hollow wall, from drywall and plaster to cinderblock.
3
1
The Hillman Pull Toggle (1), with a spiked, solid
metal toggle and a single pull strip, is rated for
120 lb. in drywall and 620 lb. in concrete block;
the Cobra Flip Toggle (2), with a formed sheet metal
toggle, is rated for 105 lb. in drywall and 435 lb.
in block; the Toggler Snaptoggle (3) has two pull
strips, both hinged to the toggle, and once you
have inserted it you can use the strips to swivel
the toggle so it is parallel to the back of the wall; it
is rated 240 lb. in drywall and 800 lb. in concrete
block.
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Beyond drywall
Screw s for Metal Stud s
Attaching woodwork to a sheetrock wall that has metal studs is not
much different than doing so on a wall with wood studs. Any of the
drywall anchors mentioned here will work between the studs. And if the
stud is in the right place, you can drive a long, heavy screw directly into
it. But if you want to create a particularly strong anchor point right on the
steel studs themselves, you could try 1Shot steel stud anchors, which are
rated for 300 lb. when driven into a steel stud. You can use them like a
giant screw to attach a workpiece to the wall, or you can use them like
an anchor, driving them flush to the drywall and hanging the workpiece
using a #8 screw driven into the hollow shank of the 1Shot.
Screws for Masonry
Tapcon screws, or blue screws, have
become a dependable favorite of mine
for installing woodwork on a concrete
or masonry wall. They let you skip
masonry anchors and the big holes they
require. These screws need only a small
pilot hole (made with a masonry bit
and a hammer drill) before being driven
into place. With their unique double-
threading, they possess the ability to
tap their own threads in concrete or
brick, so they hold fast. I live in an old
house that still has brick behind plaster-
on-lath party walls. In the correct length,
Tapcon screws allow me to go right past
the plaster and lath and into solid brick.
I’ve never had a blue screw strip or had
its head snap off.
You can buy Buildex Tapcon
Concrete Anchors in star drive or
Phillips-head versions and they’re
available as a kit that comes with the
correctly sized masonry bit.
60 F I N E w o o d w o r k in g
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E xpanding Ma s onry A nchor s
Red Head Sleeve Anchors (1) have a threaded bolt in a
metal sleeve. One end of the bolt is flared, so that when a
nut is tightened on the other end the wedge expands the
sleeve, locking it in the hole. Wedge anchors require a hole
drilled slightly deeper than the length of the anchor. After
you drill the hole with a masonry bit and hammer drill, be
sure to vacuum out the brick or cinder dust. Then slide the
anchor into the hole. Once it’s seated, the threaded portion
of the anchor, extending from the wall, receives a washer
and nut to secure the woodwork to the wall. They’re a little
unsightly, but very strong. Once the anchor is fixed into the
masonry, the woodwork can be easily attached, adjusted, or
removed without compromising the seated anchor.
1
2
When you want to attach with screws or lag screws, use
lead sleeve anchors. These old-style Everbilt soft lead lag
sleeves (2) are studded with projections and built in two
loosely connected halves, allowing them to expand and shift
in shape to conform to a predrilled hole when the screw is
driven home.
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